On 24 May, one of the matches of the 36th round of the Spanish football championship took place. Espanyol (Spain) and Atletico (Madrid) met.
Spanish Championship, round 36
Espanyol (Spain) - Atletico (Madrid) - 3:3 (0:2)
Goals: C. Montes (64), Joselu (75), Vinicius Souza (79) - Niguez (21), A. Griezmann (44), Carrasco (46).
Warnings: Alex Vidal (66), Ivo Grbic (75), Vinicius Souza (80), C. Martin (89), Jose Maria Jimenez (90+4)
A thrilling match between Espanyol and Atletico Madrid was played at the RCDE stadium in La Liga and ended in a surprise draw. At half-time, Espanyol were trailing 0-2 to Atletico Madrid, but they managed a surprising comeback in the second half. Atletico Madrid started the game on a high note, with Saul Niguez scoring the opening goal in the 21st minute. Antoine Griezmann scored his second in the 44th minute, giving Atletico a comfortable lead at half-time. The second half began with a substitute in the Espanyol line-up, who released F. Calero in place of Vinicius Sousa. However, Atletico struck first again and Yannick Carrasco scored in the 46th minute. Espanyol were determined to get back into the game and made two quick substitutions. First, O. Gil came on in place of A. Vidal and then D. Suárez replaced Expocito. This seemed to give Espanyol an energy boost and they scored their first goal in the 64th minute thanks to a goal from K. Montes.
The match took an interesting turn in the 75th minute when a penalty was awarded to Espanyol, which Joselu converted into a goal. Atletico's Ivan Grbić received a yellow card for a foul in the same incident. Atletico responded to the setback with two quick substitutions, with R. de Paul and A. Correa replacing P. Barrios and C. Martin respectively. However, Espanyol made two substitutions of their own, with J. Puado and B. Olivan replacing M. Braithwaite and A. Pedrosa. Espanyol's persistence paid off when Vinicius Sousa scored the team's second goal in the 79th minute. However, he was punished with a yellow card shortly afterwards. Atletico Madrid also made two substitutions, with S. Regulon and G. Kondogbia replacing I. Carrasco and Coque. Atletico tried to hold on to their lead in the final minutes of the game but were stopped by yellow cards from C. Martin and J. M. Gimenez in the 89th and 90th minutes respectively. The match ended in a 3-3 draw, with both teams picking up one point each. This match is sure to be remembered for a tense game and an energetic comeback by Espanyol. The players showed great skill and determination on the pitch, which made the match exciting for all spectators.
In the next round, the opponents will be Valencia v Espanyol and Atletico v Real S Dade.
| Espanyol | Atletico | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Shots on goal | 7 |
| 26 | Shots | 16 |
| 10 | Blocked shots | 3 |
| 17 | Kicks from the penalty area | 11 |
| 9 | Kicks from behind the penalty box | 5 |
| 6 | Offences | 9 |
| 16 | Corner | 1 |
| 4 | Offsides | 4 |
| 45% | Possession of the ball | 55% |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 3 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 4 | Safeties by goalkeeper | 10 |
| 427 | Total assists | 574 |
| 364 | Accurate passes | 504 |
| 85% | Accuracy of transmissions | 88% |